Air Force questions

I have been in the Marine Corps for 14 years and will not say anything negitive about any branch. They all have there plus and minus's. All I can say is make sure she chooses a job that will give have the option of getting out after 4 years and make a decent income if she want. I see all kinds of people come in and curse the Marine Corps and get out after 4 years mad at the world and 6 months later they are crawling back trying to come back in. Or you always here "Man I wish I would have stayed in back in the day I would be retired right now" Those who moved on are the one's who choose a Job that allowed them to get out and have no problem getting a job" Not all but most. The reason I have not got is because I love what I do and do not see myself doing anything else right now in my life. Tell her good luck and no matter what she is going through always be there for her wherever she may go in the world. Because I see it in both men and women, the military is rough sometimes, but being rough is what is going to save their live oneday. Semper Fi :up:

 

I went to the Academy, flew 8.5 years on Active Duty, and now 4.5 years and counting with the Reserves. Of the services, I would definitely recommend the USAF. My main piece of advice is to go in as an Officer, not Enlisted (and I know Enlisted guys/gals will say the same thing). It's competitive to join the AD right now and the quality of life is very low (lots of deployments).

Why is she interested in joining? I've always thought that you should establish a long term goal and work backwards to determine the path you need to follow. Unless she has a solid reason to join, I wouldn't recommend it.

 

I've been active duty AF for almost 14 years. Prior to that I was in the marine corps reserves. The AF treat their people a million times better and care for their families. Since joining the af I have worked as an aircraft mechanic, executive assistant, aerial gunner, boot camp instructor aka MTI, and now I'm back in acft maintenance. Drop me a pm if you'd like any info about basic training ( just left there in December) or even being on active duty. While the deployment tempo is lower than other services it really depends on the job as to how long u go and where u go. The big thing lately has been joint basing with army and air forces.

 

TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS! A lot of people go in, and want to be on the road, in the mess of it (not really an option in the AF, but as an example). And then they get out, and realize they have no skills and can't make any money, etc.

Agree with this also. As an officer she will make an actual livable pay after a few years and come out with a lot more knowledge. She will be able to get a job at Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, boeing, etc after 15ish years, working as a program manager making 130k+

 

hahahaha fell off my fukin chair.

that one is new to me. thanks.

 

this is one thing i have to agree with. 110%

 

Is she going to college? Tell her to look into an ROTC scholarship with a flight guarantee in any of the services. All the services positively LOVE to have women pilots. Makes 'em look good to Congress. It's a litle unfair to the guys, but what the hell. Someone's gonna take advantage of it, might as well be her.

 

I was Navy nuke ET. I would not go in unless it was for a technical type position, or maybe possibly be a 'trade' that she would be interested in after her active duty days are over. Most of those positions are 6 year enlistments. Going in undesignated would not be something I would recommend. I know some people get in with the recruiters promise that they can get a taste of all the jobs and then pick the one they like. Most of the time you get a crap job for 2 years and the only way to get a job/training is to reenlist to go to 4 or 6 year hitch.

 

She says she wants to sign up for 6 years... And NO to college...

 

Tactical Air Command is the old fighter command. TAC of SAC, TAC and MAC.

You man TAC-P which is Tactical Air Control.

The others things you mention are in Special Operation Command and are usually embedded or assigned to Army or Special Ops (SeALs and such).

 

If she REALLY wants to kill people, she should go USMC. If she wants to have a job, get some training, and see the world, go USAF.

 

She wants to see the world... Learn electronics... She was looking at the Fighter Aircraft Avionics & Avionics Systems...

 

It can be one of the best moves she can make, although it would have to depend on her. There’s so much to offer and at the same time you must be committed. I had my nephew join last year and he loves it. I’ve retired from 22 years of active duty in the Navy with no regrets!! I recommend the Airforce 1st choice and the Navy 2nd choice…..stop there.

 

The good thing is she can get her degree while on active duty, they support that and it's part of the promotion process...

 

She should look into a flying career field. Not everyone is cut out for the lifestyle, and the jobs can be hard to get into sometimes, but everyone I know (including myself) who flies (officer or enlisted) thinks it's the best job in the world. Enlisted jobs include loadmaster, boom operator, flight attendant, med tech, etc.

I'm a Reserve C-17 loadmaster who's made a full time job of it the last ten years and if I won the Power Ball tomorrow I can honestly say I'd keep my job! :up:

 

I thought C-17 Loads were flight attendants?

Lil Mac lives!

 

Not to put too fine a point on it, but how smart is she? You have to be SMART to get an MOS like that. Like, smartest kid in your school kind of smart.

 

Said she scored a 70 on ASVAB, which is decent for a . Most of the high tech jobs minimum starting score of 70-75 (if they are the same test & stuff I took)

 

I did 4 years active in the Air Force as an Avionics tech (working LANTIRN mostly). I was 17 and fresh out of high school when I went in, and had to have parental signature to join. I had the same main goal: see the world. Went to basic (San Antonio), then Lowry (outside Denver - now closed, I think), then the remaining three years or so at Hill AFB (north of SLC, Utah). Did one stint in Saudi (Khobar towers). So there wasn't as much travelling as I'd have liked.

I think it was the best thing I could have done. I was nowhere near ready for college. It gave me a steady paycheck and roof over my head. And it (mostly) kept me out of trouble. If things had turned out differently, I'd have stayed. I still miss it from time to time. When it came time to decide whether to re-up, I was encouraged by a few ranking people in my flight to get out and go to college. They felt that retirement benefits were being stripped, and it was just the better way to go. So I did.

One thing that really helped out before going in was having a recruiter that filled me in on some of what to expect in basic - one of the biggies being the 'reporting statement'. If she ends up going in, have her learn the reporting statement so it becomes second nature. It keeps you out of trouble the first couple days, when you mostly want to keep the low profile.

 

If she has questions about the AF get her to talk to that Lee guy up there^^^^^ LEE #177^^^^^

He knows his stuff.

I liked the Navy and wouldn't have changed a thing.